Étienne Marcoux

WILKES-BARRE. Pa. – Even though they found themselves down early, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins erupted with offense in the second half of the game to beat the Hershey Bears, 6-4, on Sunday afternoon at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (37-19-4-2) notched five goals in the final two periods of play, including two from Thomas Di Pauli, to emerge victorious and remain unbeaten in regulation against its bitter rival this season (8-0-1-1).

Hershey wasted little time scoring when Liam O’Brien jammed a puck past Anthony 62 seconds into the contest. Shortly thereafter, the Bears struck again as a centering pass took a favorable bounce right to a wide-open Joe Whitney to extend the lead to 2-0.

Étienne Marcoux then came in to relieve Peters, giving the home team a well-needed energy boost. Joseph Cramarossa put the Penguins on the board at 11:49. Jarrett Burton sped down the right side of the ice and fired the biscuit at Hershey’s net. Cramarossa was right there to knock in the rebound and pull his squad within one.

However, Hershey re-established its two-goal advantage when Jonas Siegenthaler stepped up from the point, shot the puck through a crowd and rifled it over Marcoux’s glove with 4:07 left in the opening frame.

The game turned on its head midway through the second period when Bears defenseman Madison Bowey handed Penguins forward Gage Quinney the puck at the Hershey blue line, springing Quinney loose on a breakaway. Quinney hit the post, but regained the puck and on the same offensive zone possession, fed Tom Sestito atop the crease for a goal that made it 3-2 at 11:58 of the second stanza.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton proceeded to out-possess Hershey throughout the second period, peppering Pheonix Copley with grade-A scoring chances. The team’s hard work culminated in Di Pauli burying a buzzer-beater goal at the end of the second period. After being reviewed by the officials, it was determined that the puck crossed the goal line with one second before the second intermission.

The Penguins took a 4-3 lead 2:38 into the third period thanks to Christian Thomas collecting his own rebound and shoving the puck underneath Copley’s equipment. Five minutes later, Di Pauli added another goal, shooting a one-timer on the rush set up by Tom Kostopoulos. The tally that made it 5-3, Penguins, marked Kostopoulos’ third assist of the game.

Siegenthaler notched his second goal of the night while the two teams were skating at four-on-four to make things interesting, but Cramarossa and Teddy Blueger combined on a two-on-one race up ice to put the Penguins back in a 6-4 lead with 4:41 left in regulation.

Marcoux denied 17 of 19 shots he faced to earn his first win in the AHL. Peters left the game having made one save on three shots against. Copley made 26 saves in the loss for Hershey.

The Penguins’ next game is on Tuesday, Mar. 20 when they visit the Toronto Marlies. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s next home game is against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Sunday, Mar. 25. Puck drop between the Penguins and Sound Tigers is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. Individual tickets for all Penguins home games are available at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza box office, online at TicketMaster.com, or by calling 800-745-3000.

Season ticket packages for the 19th season of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins hockey, including Flexbook plans, are available by contacting the Penguins directly at (570) 208-7367.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (33-17-4-2) returns from Midwest road trip with three points in three games

Weekly Rewind

Friday, Mar. 2 – PENGUINS 4 at Grand Rapids
The Penguins defeated the defending Calder Cup Champions in their first visit to Van Andel Arena in nearly a decade. After two back and forth periods, Teddy Blueger gave the Penguins their first lead of the night and game-winning goal in the third. Garrett Wilson added an empty net goal with less than a minute left in regulation for his second tally of the night.

Saturday, Mar. 3 – PENGUINS 0 at Rockford 3
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was shut-out in a tenacious meeting against Rockford that saw 66 total penalty minutes. Rockford scored two goals within the first half of regulation, and added an empty netter to close out the game. Rockford’s Collin Delia stood tall in net, pitching the first shutout of his career. Penguin goalie Étienne Marcoux stopped 19 of the 21 shots he faced in his AHL debut.

Sunday, Mar. 4 – PENGUINS 2 at Milwaukee 3 (SO)
Even though the Pens peppered Anders Lindbäck with 40 shots, the Admirals’ goaltender kept his team in the game and ended up with the shootout win. Ethan Prow scored his third goal of the season, and Josh Jooris sent the game to overtime in the final minute of regulation with his first goal as a Penguin.

The Week Ahead

Friday, Mar. 9 – PENGUINS at Binghamton
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton takes on Binghamton and looks to keep the season series perfect. The Penguins have defeated the Devils in each of their three meetings this season, all by identical 4-3 scores.

Saturday, Mar. 10 – PENGUINS vs. Grand Rapids
The Penguins face the Griffins for the second time in nine days after defeating them, 4-2, in their matchup last Friday. Grand Rapids hasn’t played in Wilkes-Barre since Mar. 25, 2009.

Ice Chips

– Newly signed goaltender Étienne Marcoux made his AHL debut on Saturday. Marcoux had a successful junior career, posting the best save percentage (.913) and goals against average (2.14) in the QMJHL in 2012-2013 and won back-to-back CIS University Cups in 2016 and 2017.

– Adam Johnson has six points (4G-2A) in his last seven games.

– Chris Summers played in his 500th pro game on Saturday at Rockford.

– Daniel Sprong currently ranks third among all AHL rookies in both goals (21) and power play goals (9).

Both teams had six power plays and combined for 66 penalty minutes throughout the course of the game but Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (33-17-4-1) did not take advantage of all the special teams action in the second contest of its Midwest swing.

Anthony Louis put the IceHogs on the board first, redirecting in a pass from the boards while standing between the hashmarks at 8:47 of the opening frame.

Rockford nearly made it 2-0 when Luke Johnson stepped up to a loose puck in the slot during an IceHogs’ power play, but rang it off the post behind Étienne Marcoux with eight minutes left in the second period. Shortly thereafter, the Penguins nearly pulled even on a man advantage of their own when Adam Johnson tipped a shot over the glove of Collin Delia, but its trajectory carried it narrowly wide of the post. After those close calls, the second period ultimately came and went without any scoring for either side.

Even though the middle frame didn’t yield any scoring, it only took 10 seconds into the third period for Andreas Martinsen to put the IceHogs ahead, 2-0.

In an attempt to spark his teammates, Penguins forward Jean-Sébastien Dea accepted a fight with IceHogs defender Viktor Svedberg. Dea, standing at five-foot-eleven, didn’t last very long against Svedberg, who’s listed at six-foot-nine, but the altercation saw Wilkes-Barre/Scranton head to a rare four-on-three man advantage.

The four-on-three power play was the Penguins’ sixth man advantage opportunity of the game, and despite some solid scoring chances, Delia stood tall.

Martinsen sealed the win for Rockford with an empty net goal when only 61 seconds remained in regulation.

Marcoux recorded 19 saves on 21 shots faced in his AHL debut, while Delia stopped 34 shots to post the first shutout of his pro career.

The Penguins’ next game is tomorrow, Sunday, Mar. 4, when they continue their three-in-three set through the Midwest and face the Milwaukee Admirals. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s next home game is against the Grand Rapids Griffins on Saturday, Mar. 10. The Griffins’ first trip to Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza since 2009 also serves as the Penguins’ Star Wars Night.

Puck drop between the Penguins and Griffins on Star Wars Night is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Individual tickets for all Penguins home games are available at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza box office, online at TicketMaster.com, or by calling 800-745-3000.

Season ticket packages for the 19th season of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins hockey, including Flexbook plans, are available by contacting the Penguins directly at (570) 208-7367.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins announced today that they have signed goaltender Étienne Marcoux to a professional tryout agreement.

Marcoux, 24, was named to the North Division All-Star Team for the 2018 CCM/ECHL All-Star Classic. In 30 contests with the Indy Fuel, Marcoux has earned a 16-11-1 record along with a 3.07 goals against average and .917 save percentage. He was named the league’s Rookie of the Month in December, while his 16 wins and .917 save percentage rank second and fourth, respectively, among ECHL rookie goalies.

Prior to joining the Fuel for this season, Marcoux spent two seasons in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport men’s hockey system playing for the University of New Brunswick. Marcoux and the Varsity Reds captured the CIS University Cup in both of his seasons with the team in 2016 and 2017. The native of La Plaine, Québec also posted the best goals against average among all CIS goalies (1.59) in 2016-17.

Marcoux enjoyed a 165-game career in the Québec Major Junior Hockey League with the Montréal Juniors/ Blainville-Boisbriand Armada franchise. He Led the QMJHL in goals against average (2.14) and save percentage (.913) during the 2012-13 season, and he was named a QMJHL Scholastic Player of the Month three times during his career (Dec. 2009, Feb. 2011 and Nov. 2012). After his final season of junior hockey, he signed an American Hockey League contract with the Norfolk Admirals, but only appeared in nine combined games for the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies and Rapid City Rush during the 2014-15 campaign.

The Penguins’ next game is tomorrow, Friday, Mar. 2, when they trek to the Midwest and face-off against the Grand Rapids Griffins. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s next home game is also against Grand Rapids on Saturday, Mar. 10. The Griffins’ first trip to Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza since 2009 also serves as the Penguins’ Star Wars Night.

Puck drop for Star Wars Night between the Penguins and Griffins is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Individual tickets for all Penguins home games are available at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza box office, online at TicketMaster.com, or by calling 800-745-3000.

Season ticket packages for the 19th season of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins hockey, including and Flexbook plans, are available by contacting the Penguins directly at (570) 208-7367.

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